Rice is the most-eaten food in Indonesia and in most of Asia. About half the people on Earth eat rice every day. It is one of the only crops that likes to grow in a flooded field - water actually helps it grow tall and strong, and it stops weeds from taking over.
Building a rice terrace on a hillside is a clever puzzle. Each terrace must be perfectly flat so water can sit on it. The water must be able to flow gently from the highest terrace, down to the next one, and the next, all the way to the bottom of the hill - never too fast and never too slow.
In Bali, this water system has its own name: subak. A subak is a group of farmers who share the water from a mountain spring. They agree together when to open and close the little channels, so everybody's rice gets the right amount. The system has worked for over a thousand years - far longer than most cities have existed.
Rice fields are full of life. Egrets - tall white birds - hunt for tiny fish in the water. Frogs sing at night. Small temples sit on the corners of the fields, where farmers say a quiet 'thank you' for a good harvest. Visitors come from all over the world just to walk along the narrow paths between the green steps.